Just Because She's Cute

I started back to work the middle of August and have been frightfully distracted with managing my time and sanity between work and family. As you may have noticed, the volume of pictures has gone down significantly. But I have not abandoned the photos altogether, so it's just a matter of getting caught up!

Fairly unconcerned that I set her in her chair on the front porch while her dad and

I did yard work.

Seriously, I am one chill baby.

Chillin' on the front porch wears me out.

Who can resist my cuteness?

(Evie, right around her 3-month mark…)

Our National Park Next Door

Mount Lassen Volcanic National Park is a mere

1.5 hours from Chico (which is an average distance for anything of interest outside of Chico). We were experiencing the itch to get out of town and opted for a place that was yet unexplored by us. What a great find! Mount Lassen is not heavily trafficked, and the scenery is really interesting. Take a look…

Lassen Peak

Lassen Nat'l Park, looking east.

Mount Tehama, now known as Broke-off Mountain.

A ja-zillion years ago, Mount Tehama blew its top off and scattered volcanic rock all over Northern California. Anywhere you go in the Chico area, you can see evidence of this ancient event. Broke-off Mountain is now a great hike (on my list) and is said to provide great views.

The focus of our trip was the Bumpass Hell trail, which led down to a concentration of fumaroles (holes in the volcanic landscape from which gas and vapor escape). A boardwalk allowed us to walk amongst the bubbling pools of mud, while sulfur seared our nostrils.

Evie is enjoying a little break from the Ergo.

Steam and mud; a little too hot for swimming.

We highly recommend a trip to this National Park, and we'd be quite happy to be your novice tour guides the next time you come to visit our area.

Half Dome

I encouraged Michael to mark his 30th year with something he's always wanted to do: hike Half Dome in Yosemite. It was a little bit more difficult to coordinate this trip than either of us had anticipated…the National Park is now limiting the number of people who can go up to the top of the face to 300 per day, which means that each climber needs to purchase a ticket. Way back in April when we started looking, the first available tickets were for August 6th. I suppose I have to appreciate them wanting to keep hoards of people off of a 3000-ft. precipice, but a 4-month delay was pretty crazy! We also learned that if a person wants to stay overnight in the Yosemite area during the high season, whether it be in a campsite or in a hotel, it is impossible. So, we had some coordination to make happen. Michael's climbing team were his sister, dad, and friend Matt. They all left at 3:00 a.m. in order to drive into the park and be on the trail by 6:00 a.m. A grueling 15 hours later, they were finished. I watched them limp back in the house at 11:00 p.m. Long day though it was, the experience was pretty spectacular, and the photos were the proof.

Beginning of the trek; I'm seeing lots of energy here!

Good to know.

What did he get himself into?

The ants going up the side of that rock are people.

Views from the top…

This is how they got up and down the dome.

I (Eryn) had really wanted to go on this hike, but didn't think I was up to it this summer. Now I'm not sure if I'm up to it at all, after looking at these pictures. Well, you know what they say, "never say never."

Summer Highlights

We've had a pretty fun summer; not only because we had a baby. In August, we traveled down to Modesto for a double-hitter: Michael's assent of Half Dome in Yosemite and the celebration of my 30th birthday. Here I am getting ready to blow out my candles--instead of 30 candles, they are in the formation of the number 30; easier on the smoke alarm, I suppose. It was a really fun day; all the Half Dome hikers were kind of sore and subdued, but we all enjoyed cooling off in the pool and grilling hamburgers.

This must have been a somewhat cool part of the morning, since Evie is wearing pants and socks. She is looking miserable because I put a hat on her.

Fast forward. Evie is 12 weeks old in this picture and is beginning to discover the world around her. We discovered something wonderful; toys will occupy her for a minute or two. There is a lot one can accomplish in a minute or two:

-a couple bites of a meal

-a trip to the bathroom

-getting dressed or blow-drying hair

-switching out the laundry

-stretching out the neck and shoulder muscles

Here she is staring at and talking to her toy; deep concentration is happening here.

"Not sure what I think about the laundry basket…"

Here are some of Evie's milestones we have been noticing as she finishes out month #3…

-increase in the variety of sounds she vocalizes: deep gurgles and rumbles all the way to high-pitched squeals

-conversations with whoever wants to talk baby talk with her

-imitation of the sounds that her conversation partner is making

-lots of smiling, especially at Daddy, who is currently her new love interest

-discovery of her hands; she stares at them intensely, somewhat surprised that they have appeared in front of her face

-discovery of her feet; she hasn't figured out how to grab them yet, but she stares hard, as though wondering what those things do

-new interest in novel objects

-ability to track people and objects with her signature gaze

-height and weight! At 2 months, she was 11 pounds, 6 ounces and 23.75". I KNOW she's grown since then.

Made in Chico; I love it.

This is a lovely product that I was given by Michael's co-workers. Known as the Moby Wrap, I might also term it the Baby Whisperer. Most times, I can put Evie into this when she is restless, or even screaming, and she will calm down quickly and go to sleep. Her first nap of the day is usually taken in the Moby while I do things like eat, make the bed, clean up after myself, or other basic life functions. It is awesome, and I recommend this product to anyone getting ready to have a baby. When the baby gets older, you can tie him or her to your hip, back, or they can face forward in front--up to 35 pounds! They're not even paying me to say this!

Just seconds earlier, she was crying and carrying on. Now she is about to fall asleep. Amazing.

And now we can move on with our day. ...It's like being pregnant all over again, except now I can use my stomach muscles.

Happy 6th Anniversary to Us!

Evie turned six weeks old last Thursday. Thankfully, I am finding that the time is not rushing by like a freight train; we are enjoying how the weeks meander along. I am trying to take advantage of all the time, since I will have to return to work in August and will have to endure a few hours away from her at a time. Tell me, how could anyone want to leave that sweet face behind, even for a few short (or long) hours each day?

Just to be clear, in this photo Evie is not sitting unassisted. However, she is supporting her own head.

At six weeks old, Evie:

-smiles at mom and dad a lot

-makes lots of intentional and unintentional coos and vocalizations

-picks out mom's voice when she hears it and turns her head to search me out

-can be calmed when she hears mom's voice

-loves to sit on our laps and make faces and noises at us

-likes to make bubbles, whether she means to or not

It was our 6th anniversary last weekend, so we celebrated by escaping the heat of Chico and heading out to Mendocino for a weekend in Fort Bragg. Note that I am wearing jeans and a fleece; it was deliciously cool, and the air was fresh, clean, and full of oxygen! We are about to take Evie on her first "hike," in Van Damme State Park, although I am really not up to hiking yet. It was a level walk through the woods. ;-)

We actually had to put clothes on her.

Saturday was foggy, but we were not complaining. I haven't seen an overcast day since the day Evie was born. We enjoyed our little hike, sat at the beach for a bit, had lunch, and went back to our B&B for a nap. Then out to dinner at a restaurant that served great food! Michael enjoyed a really great beer (I took a sip or two) that was brewed in Anderson Valley, CA--I recommend their beer! Our food was all organic, local, and delicious, and the baby did not fuss much. The train in the picture is one of Fort Bragg's main attractions, the Skunk Train, which takes passengers on a 3-hour tour through the redwood forests. We didn't embark on that journey; we just took our hike through the redwoods instead.

This picture needs no explanation.

Evie's first ocean sighting. She is very excited, can't you see?

Happy 6th anniversary to us! A weekend away was a great way to celebrate!

Official Welcome to the Hanes Family

Michael's mom and sister put together a beautiful baby shower for Evie last weekend. I was a little worried that Evie would cry and fuss throughout her party, but she exceeded my expectations and received her admirers with grace and poise. We really appreciated all the effort that Helen and Julie put into this shower; we had a great time and felt very honored.

She'll probably kill me for posting this picture, but I think it captures the essence of Cristina; she's even got camera in hand!

Uncle Greg and Auntie Julie, as they have been newly named.

Some long-time friends of the Hanes family came; pictured here are Dell and Jerry.

Other long-time friends: Ron's arm, Yvonne, and Neil talking with Grandma.

Half of the food table!

Yummy cake!

Evie receiving her first red envelopes. She loves having Great-Grandma Joe hold her.

If I'd thought to get Michael in here, we would have had 4 generations! Evie is pictured with Great-Grandpa and Grandma Joe and Grandma Hanes.

Pretty ladies--Julie and Cristina.

Thanks again, family and friends! What a lovely shower!

One Very Busy Month!

Aside from having a baby (no big deal), we've been very busy here! We've had lots of visitors, which has been really fun. Now we are getting to figure out our new pattern of life with a little baby in our midst. It's fun, and we're not even too tired… (yawn). Here are a few of the people who came to visit.

Grandpa Alan came to visit. Evie allows many people to hold her with very little protest.

She will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, but she has been practicing holding her head up for 3 weeks. She moves a lot, too, hence the blurry picture.

Who are you looking at?

…Jennie! Our very special friends whom we met in S. Korea came to see us during their trip through California. Such a special visit. We thank them for driving from L.A. to Chico just to see us. Eryn had a little cry when they left (not to mention that she is still a little cracked out on hormones…)

We dubbed Ernie the Baby Whisperer, since Evie was always very content to be held by him--no fussing! (p.s. I don't know why this text is underlined; blogger-style, I can't fix it.)

All those visitors wore them out.

A few things Evie has learned to do in month 1:

-make cooing noises

-hold her head up

-suck her thumb

-roll from her back to her side, as well as from her side to her back

-sleep 4-5.5 hours at a stretch at night

-look around at everything

-some smiles

-stare at people with great intent

There! Now I've written it down in at least one place!